Dracut Housing Authority Board Member Brian Bond was nice enough to check in to let me know that he has not been asked to resign from the Dracut Housing Authority and gave no indication he was contemplating doing that.

Brian sent me a message stating that ” The Gov. has NOT asked me” (to resign.)

I appreciate Brian responding to the rumor and even more appreciate this promise from him:

“If he calls you’ll be the first blogger / Media person I tell”

Sen. Eileen Donahue and Sgt. Mickey O'Keefe

Once again, thank you to Rita Mercier for saying what many of us were thinking about the strong individual characters of Timmy Green and Mickey O’Keefe at last nights City Council meeting. File it under “all’s well that ends well.”

Also, thank you to Rodney Elliot and Ed Kennedy for working out a solution for letting the people in on the process of selecting officials that represent the City.

And kudos to City Manager Lynch for graciously making the resumes of all candidates for future offices available to the Councilors via his office.

But it was Rita Mercier and Rodney Elliot who brought the point home by letting the people in on the credentials of Sgt. O’Keefe. Now the people AND the City Manager know a little more about his background that may not have been public knowledge. Rita accentuated the victory by stating that perhaps Sgt. O’Keefe would be a suitable candidate for other positions in the future. How can we harness that synergy for team play? We’re close, but not quite there yet.

Congratulations to Timmy Green on his appointment! We all know he’ll do a great job for the City and for the LHA.

The team play that was exhibited by all at last night’s City Council meeting is a step towards providing a government that’s team oriented AND one that works. Keep up the good work!

above photo by George DeLuca

Adam Baacke led the Tanner St. Workshop on Monday

Just about every neighborhood in Lowell has a neighborhood group. On the lastest segment of “The Lowell Connection” on 980WCAP now available at http://www.cometolowell.com/980WCAP2.htm, we discussed 3 meetings that were held on Monday night: the meeting of the newly formed East Pawtucketville Neighborhood Group, the Community Workshop for the Tanner St. Economic Development Plan, and the meeting of the Lowell Downtown Neighborhood Association.

Our guest was Paul Belley, neighborhood activist. Chime in as we continue our exploration of how Lowell is governed. Is it government by the people or is it a top down form of government? Should you join a neighborhood group? Why or why not? Are there other ways to be heard? Do you contact City Councilors, board and commission members, the City Manager, City staff, etc. directly? Do you contact members of the delegation to let them know about your concerns? How are members of Citizen’s Advisory Committees and “blue ribbon panels” chosen?

photo above by George DeLuca

On a 5-3 vote, the Council voted to approve a policy that the City Manager would forward a copy of the resume of the person being nominated to a board or commission but NOT the resume of all who applied.

However ANY City Councilor could go into the Manager’s Office and request to view all the resumes of those who applied.

What I don’t understand is Councilor Elliot. He has been on the City Council for 15 years and yet in the previous 13 NEVER presented a motion to get resumes.

Which made the following quite comical in my view. He kept repeating “how am I expected to make an informed vote on a candidate if I don’t have all the facts?”

Which may make a few people (Like me) ask the question – Is that his way of telling us in the past 13 all his votes to confirm candidates for boards and commissions have been uninformed votes?

Another thing that Councilor Elliot brought up is that he alleges Mr. Green (who was approved for the LHA Board tonight) son approached him to “lobby” for his father but felt he was a bit zealous and it was inappropriate.

What did he think would happen if councilors got all resumes in advance of an appointment and publicly on the council floor motion to kill that appointment?

The Sun would run puff pieces like they did for Mickey O’Keefe and many people would lobby councilors which is why plan E was set up the way it was to avoid this type of lobbying.

It will be interesting to see if Councilor Elliot (and by extension his buddies Lyle and the Sun Editor Mr C) move on to other issue or continue to beat this resume issue even more.

(and YES I know I am supposed to be studying, not blogging but I read while listening to the meeting and needed a break)

courtesy of The Boston Globe

I get the feeling Mike McLaughlin would in hindsight have rather left the Dracut Housing Authority alone then try to flex his political muscle against former Sen. Steve and other friends of DHA Executive Director Mary Karabatsos.

He unwittingly started a chain reaction so strong that it not only cost him his job and political career but he is taking Lt. Gov. Tim Murray and others with him.

In Today’s Sun Blog by Chris Scott titled Collateral Damage — Reprise he looks at the latest Dracut Elected official to get swept up in the McLaughlin fallout – Dracut Selectman John Zimini.

There is another rumors swirling around NOT in this Blog piece but one that says the Governor’s Appointment to the Dracut Housing Authority Board – Brian Bond is being asked or is about to be asked to resign from that post in the wake of the McLaughlin scandal by the Lt. Governor but no one is willing to comment on that.

Read the entire post but here is a short section to wet you appetite:

In Sunday’s extensive Globe story covering how McLaughlin raised money for Murray, deep in the story Zimini is mentioned. The story doesn’t, however, note that he’s from Dracut or that he is now serving his 4th-term on the Board of Selectmen.

According to the story, Murray once called former state Labor Secretary Suzanne Bump, angry that she fired Zimini because of his alleged relationship with McLaughlin.